NU GUARD'S LITTLE HURT POSES BIG THREAT

Bill Jauss, Tribune Staff WriterCHICAGO TRIBUNE

Career-threatening injury. The term takes on different meanings for different football players.

Ryan Padgett, Northwestern's 292-pound junior offensive guard, always thought a career-threatening injury meant a thoroughly blown-out knee or a series of concussions. Certainly he believed it meant something more than one smashed finger.

But when Padgett's right ring finger was severely smashed last month in the Ohio State game, suddenly the term applied.

No, Padgett's football career wasn't threatened. He underwent surgery the day after the injury and played the next Saturday against Wisconsin with his hand in a cast. He has not missed a game. This Saturday at Dyche Stadium, he will be part of the efficient, experienced offensive line that will try to open holes for Dennis Lundy and protect Tim Hughes in Northwestern's Homecoming game against Illinois.

But Padgett, an honor student in premedicine, realized that unless he would be diligent in his rehabilitation for the next three months, the injury could block him from reaching his goal of becoming a surgeon.

"I've never wanted to do anything else," Padgett said. "I've wanted to be a doctor for about eight years. I want to work with people and actually do some good. I had a lot of injuries when I was about in the 8th grade, and I saw in the doctors' eyes how gratifying it was to them when they helped me."

Padgett, an All-American lineman at Newport High in Bellevue, Wash., will work as hard on his rehab as he has on his blocking.

"Even with the best of rehab, my range of motion can be limited," Padgett said. "The rehab is going to be a challange to me."

When he was injured, Padgett asked team doctor Howard Sweeney and other doctors how it might affect his plans.

"They told me that it couldn't get hurt any worse by playing," he said. "They said the ring finger is not as important as the others. I should have like 90 percent mobility and flexibility, and I'm willing to put in the work to make it 100 percent. I have a limited time period, about three months, to get it back to 100 percent. After that, everything sets. If your tendons aren't used, they shorten."

The NCAA provides insurance for players projected as first-round NFL draft picks. The policies protect the players against loss of football income if they are injured after staying in school instead of turning pro early.

"Maybe there could be such a policy for people who aspire to be doctors," Padgett said. "I never thought about it, but it sounds like a good idea."

Padgett epitomizes the "student-athlete." He carries an A-minus grade average. Although afternoon labs sometimes cut into football practice, he was the only starting member of the Wildcats' offensive line who started and lettered as a freshman. The others spent their freshman seasons as red shirts, bulking up in the weight room and learning to block in practice.

"I really wanted to play as a freshman," Padgett recalled. "I came here with that intent: play right away. At least I wanted the opportunity. I couldn't see myself sitting out a year. I think it would have cost me motivation."

Still, Padgett struggled athletically and academically as a freshman in 1992, Gary Barnett's first season as head coach.

"First quarter was very difficult," Padgett recalled. "I was not playing as well as I thought I would. I was not doing well in tests. I'd always had good grades. My average going into finals was 2.4 (C-plus). Going down to Illinois on the bus, I sorted out my priorities."

That bus ride led Padgett to two massive comebacks. He helped NU rally from a 20-6 fourth-quarter deficit to a 27-26 victory. He then went into finals and did so well that he jacked his grade-point average to a 3.6, an A-minus.

From then on, he has had high grades in the classroom and on the football field. But it hasn't been easy.

"It's so hard," he said. "Some people are sponges for information, but I won't lie to you. I have to work. I work through it.

"I have a three-hour biology lab on Tuesday, so I miss practice. There are a lot of late nights. I never really get to hang out with the guys. Even on Saturday night, I think of the Sunday work, so I can't stay out too late."

Is it worth it?

"Oh, yes," Padgett said. "I never wanted to do anything else. My father is a CPA. I saw what he does, and I said I can never work at a desk for eight hours a day 40 hours a week for 40 years. I want to do something that really matters and really helps people.

"Of all things in a person's life, health is most important. That kind of led me into medicine. I thought, What a great opportunity to do someone good and enjoy one's self."